Directorate Strategic Planning, Performance Monitoring and Reporting

3RD QUARTER PERFORMANCE REPORT

01 OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 2012

Compiled by:

Directorate Strategic Planning, Performance Monitoring and Reporting

14 February 2013

Updated 26 February 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT 3

3. OVERALL ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE 4

4. SUMMARY OF PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE INFORMATION 5

4.1 PROGRAMME 1: ADMINISTRATION 6

4.1.1 Key achievements 6

4.1.2 Impact 6

4.1.3 Targets delayed 7

4.1.4 Targets not achieved 7

4.2 PROGRAMME 2: COMMUNICATION AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT 7

4.2.1 Key achievements 7

2.2.2 Impact 8

4.2.3 Target partially achieved 9

4.2.4 Targets delayed 9

4.3 PROGRAMME 3: GOVERNMENT AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 9

4.3.1 Key Achievements 9

4.3.2 Impact 10

4.3.3 Partially achieved targets 10

4.3.4 Delayed targets 10

4.4 PROGRAMME 4: COMMUNICATION SERVICE AGENCY 11

4.4.1 Key Achievements 11

4.4.2 Impact 11

4.4.3 Targets partially achieved 12

4.4.4 Targets not achieved 12

5. SUMMARY OF THE RISK MITIGATION REPORT 12

5.1 Administration 12

5.2 Communication and Content Management 13

5.3 Government and Stakeholder Engagement 13

5.4 Communication Service Agency 13

6. CONCLUSION 13

7. LEGEND FOR THE PERFORMANCE LEVELS 14

Quantitative targets 14

Qualitative targets 14

ANNEXURE A: PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE INFORMATION 15

ANNEXURE B: CONSOLIDATED EXPENDITURE AS AT END OF THIRD QUARTER (01 APRIL TO 31 DECEMBER 2012) 62

ANNEXURE C: STRATEGIC RISK MITIGATION REPORT 66

ANNEXURE D: ADJUSTMENTS TO THE ACTUAL ACHIEVEMENTS FOR AUDITED 2ND QUARTER PERFORMANCE 83

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 87

1. INTRODUCTION

The 3rd Quarter Performance Report of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) provides information on performance against the 2012/13 Annual Performance Plan (APP) for the period 01 October to 31 December 2012. The report is divided into three sections: overview of the organisational environment, which captures changes in the internal environment of the organisation; overall organisational performance based on programme performance information; and a summary of performance information for all programmes. The detailed progress performance report is attached as Annexure A, financial information as Annexure B, the risk mitigation report as Annexure C and reconciliation of the audit report is Annexure D.

2. OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

The department has rolled-out the E-recruitment system as a means of improving the job application process for internal and external officials. The e-recruitment system is expected to improve the capacity of handling responses and enabling direct communication with candidates via email. The system will further help to attract quality applicants in the market with relevant skills and knowledge suitable for the department’s needs.

The Knowledge Management unit has been organising discussion sessions on topics including infrastructure development, National Development Plan (NDP) and job creation. The last discussion session for the quarter took place in November 2012 and focussed on decent work. An expert on the topic from the Department of Labour was invited as a keynote speaker.

On the 31 October, the department’s Skills Development Committee approved 29 bursary applications that were received from officials wishing to further their studies. Most applicants who applied wanted to pursue careers in communication and in public administration, which will benefit the department as well as government.

During the quarter, the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) started with the interim audit of the 2012/13 financial year. For the first phase of the auditing process, the auditors focussed on audit planning, reviewing of meeting documents, retrieving of information from various sections and the reviewing of the financial business processes. This first phase ended at the end of October, and the second phase of the interim audit is expected to start in January, with the final audit to commence in March to July 2013.

3. OVERALL ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Branch / Total targets for 3rd quarter / Achieved Targets / Partially achieved / Delayed target / Targets not Achieved / Percentage (%) Achieved
Administration / 30 / 25 / 0 / 4 / 1 / 86%
Communication and Content Management / 28 / 21 / 2 / 2 / 3 / 86%
Government and Stakeholder Engagement / 24 / 19 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 83%
Communication Service Agency / 13 / 10 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 85%
Total / 94 / 80 / 4 / 8 / 2 / 85%

There were 94 quarterly targets to report on. Of these, 80 targets were achieved, 4 targets were partially achieved, 8 were delayed and 2 were not achieved.

Of the 94 quarterly targets reported on, 18 are Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE) indicators, of which 14 were achieved, 1 was partially achieved and 2 were delayed. Programme 1 achieved 86% of its targets, Programme 2 achieved 86%, Programme 3 achieved 83%, and Programme 4 achieved 85%. The overall achievement for the department for quarter 3 was 85%.

The targets below were delayed and in some instances caused a variance in the budget, which is reflected in the consolidated expenditure report (attached as Annexure B).

· Programme 1: Delays in the construction of the building, which has had a huge impact in the budget.

· Programme 2: The target for printing and publication of State of the Media in South Africa was delayed.

· Programme 3: Branding of the Thusong Service Centres (TSCs) has been delayed.

· Programme 4: The procurement of equipment for media production did not take place as anticipated.

4. SUMMARY OF PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

4.1 PROGRAMME 1: ADMINISTRATION

The programme provides overall management and support for the department. It has the following sub-programmes:

(a) Human Resources

(b) Finance, Supply Chain Management and Auxiliary Services

(d) Information Management and Technology (IMT)

(e) Strategic Planning and Programme Management

(f) Training and Development.

The programme has a total of 29 targets, of which 25 targets were achieved, 3 delayed and 1 target was not achieved.

4.1.1 Key achievements

The programme submitted the following documents according to government legislative frameworks:

· The GCIS 2nd draft Annual Performance Plan (2013/16) and 2nd Quarter Performance Report were submitted to the National Treasury and the Executive Authority for comments on the 30 November 2012.

· The Human Resource Development (HRD) 3rd Quarter Report was compiled. The report highlighted the following: 7 newly appointed officials who attended the induction, 29 new bursaries were approved, 73 employees who attended short courses and seven (7) senior, middle and emerging managers who also completed management development programmes.

· The department’s vacancy rate was maintained at 4%.

· The 2nd Quarter Interim Financial statements and the three financial analysis and cash flow reports were submitted to National Treasury.

· The 2nd Quarter Training Report was submitted to the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority (PSETA) on 10 October 2012, with a total of 211 employees having attended training during the quarter.

· The 3rd Quarter HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) Report was submitted to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) on 6 December 2012.

4.1.2 Impact

· The implementation of the 2010-2013 HR Strategy has ensured that the HR management, HRD and employee health and wellness programme (EHWP) processes are improved to create career opportunities and reward systems that contribute to on-going job satisfaction of staff.

· Consistent 96% capacity enables smooth functioning of the organisation.

· Available IT infrastructure and systems to GCIS enables all sections to perform their functions efficiently.

· The newly launched E-recruitment System will improve HR efficiency in recruitment and selection. Internal and external job applicants will be able to apply jobs online.

· Improved governance, risk management and control due to monitoring and evaluation contributed to the effectiveness of internal audits and the implementation of recommendations, and also to a clean AG audit.

· Improved working conditions for employees with disabilities and informed line managers and employees with regard to disability management helped remove stereotypes.

4.1.3 Targets delayed

· Progress on the construction work of the new head office has been delayed as a result of rain in the 3rd quarter. The contractor has however confirmed and committed that the building will be completed as planned by 30 April 2013.

· Production and distribution of copies of the Government communicators’ handbook was delayed due to the slow submission of inputs from the different chief directorates.

4.1.4 Targets not achieved

No projectising was done for the Corporate Services branch for the period under review due to increased external client requests for projects coordination which was prioritised. The PMO prioritised the implementation of external projects due to capacity constraints.

4.2 PROGRAMME 2: COMMUNICATION AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT

The programme provides strategic leadership in government communications for purposes of ensuring coherence, coordination, consistency, quality, impact and responsiveness of government communication. The sub-programmes are:

(a) Content and Writing

(b) Marketing and Distribution

The programme has 28 targets, of which 24 were achieved, 2 were partially achieved, 2 were delayed The Programme has 3 ENE indicators and all 3 were achieved during the quarter under review.

4.2.1 Key achievements

· The following presentations/reports were produced for the quarter under review:

o Impact assessment report on GCIS communication products and services.

o One Pulse of the Nation research report was produced for political principles.

· 389 language service requests were received from GCIS and other government departments against the quarterly target of 40. Of these, 184 were editing requests, 161 were proofreading requests, 24 were content development requests and 20 were translation requests. The overachievement is due to an increase in the number of requests received.

· A total of 5.1 million copies of Vuk’uzenzele and a further 1219 braille copies of the magazine were produced. The number of braille copies produced is determined by the distribution database, which is reviewed on a monthly basis.

· Sound research was conducted on public perceptions of political principals in order to inform policy decisions.

2.2.2 Impact

· The Insight newsletter provides an integrated view of the communication environment, which incorporates research findings and media reporting on a range of issues.

· Press clippings and national and international media coverage reports allowed internal and external stakeholders to remain informed of developments in the media environment and enabled them to track and assess media reporting on matters that affect them.

· Alerts of breaking news enabled internal and external stakeholders to respond timeously to issues in the media environment that could require proactive or reactive communication.

· Key messages ensured that there was consistent and coordinated communication and prevented the incidence of conflicting messages on issues that affect Government and the country in media reporting.

· The development of communication content products assisted in informing government communication and ensured that government's voice is carried in media.

· Through the publishing and distribution of the Public Sector Manager (PSM) magazine, middle and senior managers in the public sector are better equipped, and are able to articulate government policies as they perform their daily work.

· There was increased awareness of the acting (Chief Executive Officer) CEO as well as positive representation of the GCIS brand amongst select stakeholders. Furthermore, the use of alternative tactics for marketing of GCIS products and platforms ensured that opportunities to interact with the organization were enhanced. A notable increase in attendance was noted at the PSM Forum in Polokwane where bulk SMS marketing was used to attract an audience to the event. The PSM Forum is a platform which aids in creating awareness of the PSM magazine. By successfully hosting these events, this objective was achieved amongst those attending. In addition, the exchange of ideas and discussion around headline topics facilitates the transfer on knowledge amongst public sector managers. The PSM magazine plays a fundamental role in communicating important matters concerning managers in the public sector. Ensuring that the publication has proper distribution processes is important to the success thereof.

· The gov.za, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube pages created increased awareness (directly and viral) of online government information, and therefore also of government activities, programmes and documents.

· Through the production and distribution of Vuk’uzenzele newspaper, South Africa has well informed citizenry on government policies and programmes. Visually impaired individuals are better informed about government programmes and policies on a monthly basis. The physical distribution of Vuk'uzenzele serves a vital element of the South African market, namely Living Standard Measure (LSM) 1-6 residing in deep rural, rural and peri-urban areas. These members of the public are the most information deprived. The South African Yearbook (SAYB) is a vital source of information for schools, which are the largest bulk point recipients of the publication.

4.2.3 Target partially achieved

· The Knowledge Management (KM) policy was approved by Management Committee (Manco) and the KM portal updated. The KM audit would only begin in January 2013 after the appointment of an external KM consultant.

· Two electronic newsletters for public servants were published for the quarter.

4.2.4 Targets delayed

· Printing and publication of the State of the Media in South Africa has been delayed as a result of a decision taken to outsource the writing of the chapters. By the end of the quarter service providers were secured for the layout, design and printing of this book on the media landscape.

4.3 PROGRAMME 3: GOVERNMENT AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

The programme provides leadership and strategic advice to the provincial and local government communication systems. It consists of the following sub-programmes:

(a) Provincial and Local Liaison (PLL)

(b) Cluster Supervision for Economic Infrastructure, Justice and International, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

(d) Media Engagement.

The programme reported on 24 targets; 20 were achieved, 1 was partially achieved and 3 were delayed. The programme has 7 ENE indicators, of which 5 were achieved and 2 is delayed.

4.3.1 Key Achievements

· 15 presentations on National Communication Strategy (NCS) to cascade government content were made to the national, provincial and local sphere during this quarter, of which 3 were made by the two clusters and 12 were made to the provincial and local government sphere.